St. Giles (7th c.) was born to a wealthy and noble Greek family. He devoted his life to the things of God and grew in sanctity, but found that his material and spiritual riches drew unwanted praise and attention. To escape prestige, he sold all of his possessions, gave his wealth to the poor, and moved away to Gaul (present day France) to live in solitude in the wilderness as a cave-dwelling...

Born to wealthy pagan parents, Cyprian taught rhetoric and literature. As an adult, he converted to Christianity. He was a student of Saint Caecilius of Carthage. He was ordained in 247 and proclaimed Bishop of Carthage in 249. During the persecution of Decius, beginning in 250, Cyprian lived in hiding, covertly ministering to his flock; his enemies condemned him for being a coward and not...

St. Fiacre (d. 670 A.D.) was born in Ireland and was raised from childhood in an Irish monastery. There he grew in knowledge as well as holiness, and became a priest. He retired to a hermitage to live in prayer and solitude, but men began to flock to him to imitate his way of life and become his disciples. To escape them, Fiacre left Ireland to establish a new hermitage in France. He went to...

St. Sabina (d. 126 A.D.) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, a widow and the daughter of Herod Metallarius. She was converted to Christianity by her virtuous female slave, St. Serapia, a devout Christian from Antioch who entered into voluntary slavery with Sabina after forsaking marriage and consecrating herself to Christ. Following her conversion, St. Sabina's home became a secret meeting...

Saint Julian of Brioude was a 4th-century martyr from the Auvergne region of France. Although the main focus of his worship was in the small village of Brioude, he was originally from the city of Vienne, and also associated with Clermont. He was most famous through his association with an aristocratic family of bishops of the time, his most notable proponents being St. Gallus of Clermont and...